SynthesisPloS one2016
Do Hospitalized Premature Infants Benefit from Music Interventions? A Systematic Review of Randomized Controlled Trials.
Synthesis in PloS one, 2016. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. It is linked to trial NCT04559620 (Mother Providing Recorded Voice to Her Preterm Infant in Incubator Improves Her Own Grief and Emotional Status), which is not on this map. Cited by 35 papers, 4 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Mother Providing Recorded Voice to Her Preterm Infant in Incubator Improves Her Own Grief and Emotional Status
Who cites it
35 citing papers in PubMed, 4 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 102 citations in OpenAlex.
- Care intervention on psychological outcomes among patients admitted to intensive care unit: an umbrella review of systematic reviews and meta-analyses.Systematic reviews · 2023Pooled it
- Musical and vocal interventions to improve neurodevelopmental outcomes for preterm infants.The Cochrane database of systematic reviews · 2023Pooled it
- Effect of Musical Stimulation on Placental Programming and Neurodevelopment Outcome of Preterm Infants: A Systematic Review.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2023Pooled it
- Evaluating physiologic outcomes of music interventions in the neonatal intensive care unit: a systematic review.Journal of perinatology : official journal of the California Perinatal Association · 2020Pooled it
- Effect of premature infant oral motor intervention [PIOMI] combined with music therapy on feeding progression of preterm infants: a randomized control trial.European journal of pediatrics · 2023Trial
- Life after the NICU: targeting modifiable factors to improve neurodevelopmental outcomes in children born extremely preterm.Pediatric research · 2026Review
- Effects of Music Genres Reflecting Maternal Listening Preferences During Pregnancy on Distress Markers in Italian Preterm Infants.Children (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Article
- Challenges and limitations of evaluating the efficacy of music intervention for preterm infants: auditory development, methodological heterogeneity, medical complexity, parental involvement and environmental barriers.Frontiers in pediatrics · 2026Article
- Effects of maternal singing or voice on language and social-emotional development of preterm infants: protocol for a systematic review.BMJ open · 2025Article
- Sleep for infants after discharge from a neonatal ward: Expert- and parent endorsed strategies.Pediatric research · 2025Article
- Impact of Music Therapy on Neurodevelopment of Preterm Infants and Functional Improvement in Children with Neurological Deficits.Pediatric reports · 2025Review
- Music medicine and music therapy in neonatal care: a scoping review of passive music listening research applications and findings on infant development and medical practice.BMC pediatrics · 2024Article
- Effect of an early music intervention on emotional and neurodevelopmental outcomes of preterm infants at 12 and 24 months.Frontiers in psychology · 2024Article
- Ideal Mode of Auditory Stimulation in Preterm Neonates in Neonatal Intensive Care Unit: A Systematic Review.Cureus · 2023Review
- Evaluation and Treatment of Pain in Fetuses, Neonates and Children.Children (Basel, Switzerland) · 2022Review
- Advanced Brain Imaging in Preterm Infants: A Narrative Review of Microstructural and Connectomic Disruption.Children (Basel, Switzerland) · 2022Review
- Music Intervention for Pain Control in the Pediatric Population: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.Journal of clinical medicine · 2022Article
- Summary and Analysis of Relevant Evidence for Nondrug Nursing Programs in Neonatal Operational Pain Management.Emergency medicine international · 2022Article
- Potential Psychological and Biological Mechanisms Underlying the Effectiveness of Neonatal Music Therapy during Kangaroo Mother Care for Preterm Infants and Their Parents.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2021Article
- The Soundscape of Neonatal Intensive Care: A Mixed-Methods Study of the Parents' Experience.Children (Basel, Switzerland) · 2021Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
6 authors at 2 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
objectiveNeonatal intensive care units (NICU) around the world increasingly use music interventions. The most recent systematic review of randomized controlled trials (RCT) dates from 2009. Since then, 15 new RCTs have been published. We provide an updated systematic review on the possible benefits of music interventions on premature infants' well-being.
methodsWe searched 13 electronic databases and 12 journals from their first available date until August 2016. Included were all RCTs published in English with at least 10 participants per group, including infants born prematurely and admitted to the NICU. Interventions were either recorded music interventions or live music therapy interventions. All control conditions were accepted as long as the effects of the music intervention could be analysed separately. A meta-analysis was not possible due to incompleteness and heterogeneity of the data.
resultsAfter removal of duplicates the searches retrieved 4893 citations, 20 of which fulfilled the inclusion/exclusion criteria. The 20 included studies encompassed 1128 participants receiving recorded or live music interventions in the NICU between 24 and 40 weeks gestational age. Twenty-six different outcomes were reported which we classified into three categories: physiological parameters; growth and feeding; behavioural state, relaxation outcomes and pain. Live music interventions were shown to improve sleep in three out of the four studies and heart rate in two out of the four studies. Recorded music improved heart rate in two out of six studies. Better feeding and sucking outcomes were reported in one study using live music and in two studies using recorded music.
conclusionsAlthough music interventions show promising results in some studies, the variation in quality of the studies, age groups, outcome measures and timing of the interventions across the studies makes it difficult to draw strong conclusions on the effects of music in premature infants.
Indexed as
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What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.